In West Bank, Fatah Loses Favor

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The popularity of the U.S.-backed Palestinian government here is eroding for the first time since it was established following the Islamist group Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, according to a poll.

Perhaps more disconcerting for the Bush administration and Israel: Hamas's popularity, while still lower than that of the more secular Fatah party, is on the rise, reversing a nearly two-year slide as the Islamist group has begun to reassert itself.